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GTA V Flooded With Negative Reviews On Steam After OpenIV Modding Tool Shuts Down (kotaku.com)

OpenIV, a popular modding tool used by tons of GTA V fans, is shutting down. After nearly 10 years of operation, the creators claim they have received a cease and desist from Take-Two Interactive -- the publisher of Grand Theft Auto. The news has shocked the PC Grand Theft Auto community, who use OpenIV to add thousands of mods into GTA V. Many upset modders have retaliated by flooding GTA V with negative reviews on Steam. Kotaku reports: According to a post on the official OpenIV website, the alleged cease and desist came on June 5th 2017. The supposed problem, OpenIV's creators say, is that the program allows "third parties to defeat security features of its software and modify that software in violation Take-Two's rights." After discussing their options, the team behind the tool says they decided it was not worth their time to fight back. "Yes, we can go to court and yet again prove that modding is fair use and our actions are legal," creator GooD-NTS wrote. "Yes, we could. But we decided not to. Going to court will take at least few months of our time and huge amount of efforts, and, at best, we'll get absolutely nothing. Spending time just to restore status quo is really unproductive, and all the money in the world can't compensate the loss of time. So, we decided to agree with their claims and we're stopping distribution of OpenIV."

69 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Kerbal Space Program by spiritplumber · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Take Two just bought Kerbal Space Program. Are they going to try to put a stop to KSP modding? Would Take Two even survive that?

    --
    Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
    1. Re:Kerbal Space Program by pellik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They will survive, but KSP may not.

    2. Re:Kerbal Space Program by asavage · · Score: 2

      KSP is already getting a ton of negative reviews on steam because of this. Lots of players are backing up the game files so they can keep running the current version in case a new version blocks mods.

    3. Re:Kerbal Space Program by spiritplumber · · Score: 1

      Given the cohesiveness, skills, and interests of the KSP community, I'd give better odds to Take Two's office building taking an orbital kinetic strike than to KSP not surviving.

      --
      Liberty - Security - Laziness - Pick any two.
    4. Re:Kerbal Space Program by HornWumpus · · Score: 2

      We could crowdfund it. How much does SpaceX charge for an ICBM trajectory, say a 5 ton tank of hydrazine, right in the CEO's office?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    5. Re:Kerbal Space Program by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

      We could crowdfund it. How much does SpaceX charge for an ICBM trajectory, say a 5 ton tank of hydrazine, right in the CEO's office?

      Proof that video games lead to violent fantasies - Exhibit A

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    6. Re:Kerbal Space Program by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Indeed, especially ultra-violent games like Kerbal Space Program.

      Or, as the SJW's refer to it, "Chervil Space Program".

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    7. Re:Kerbal Space Program by Darinbob · · Score: 4, Informative

      That's the snag with Steam, they moved to a model where you can't easily block updates. It used to be you told it when you wanted to update, but now your choices are limited to "update immediately when a new version is available" and "update before playing". Yes, you can go around this with some planning by using offline mode but it's a bit of a hassle. So much for all the Valve fans defending tooth and nail their DRM.

    8. Re:Kerbal Space Program by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      I'm not a credible witness.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    9. Re:Kerbal Space Program by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      If you're running current, you're right. But you can select previous versions from the 'Beta' tab (from 'properties') and stay there (for now).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    10. Re:Kerbal Space Program by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      It's not a problem with Steam, it's a problem with shitty companies.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    11. Re:Kerbal Space Program by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      No, the shitty company is the shitty company's fault. The inability to keep the program you paid for when Steam wants you updated is Valve's fault.

    12. Re:Kerbal Space Program by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      You agreed to the ToS, which stipulates that software can be updated whenever, wherever, for any reason.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    13. Re:Kerbal Space Program by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      You knew exactly what you were getting into, and you entered into the agreement willingly.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    14. Re:Kerbal Space Program by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Er, what? What's wrong with Kerbal? WTF is Chervil? How hard am I gonna facepalm if I google this myself?

      I hate to have to explain my jokes to you monolingual types, but here goes: "Kerbel" is the German word for "Chervil", which is a delicate, parsley-like herb used in French cooking.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    15. Re:Kerbal Space Program by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      This is the Libertarian equivalent of the "No it's not a LOLPHP, it's documented!" argument.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    16. Re:Kerbal Space Program by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Says the AC, without looking.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    17. Re:Kerbal Space Program by thecatt · · Score: 1

      Even with the explanation, I'm not getting the joke there. I'm guessing there's a cultural context that I'm lacking. Is the implication that SJWs are more likely to be French than German?

    18. Re:Kerbal Space Program by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Is the implication that SJWs are more likely to be French than German?

      No, it's that SJWs are more likely to eat parsley whereas real men who play video games have never seen a "parsley".

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    19. Re:Kerbal Space Program by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      No, some games were purchased before the TOS changed. However the original TOS probably had a clause that said they could change the TOS at any time.

    20. Re:Kerbal Space Program by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      I was rotten before video games. Before games existed (except pong and space war), me and my middle school friends plotted shooting down the goodyear blimp with model rockets. Yes, I'm that old.

      Video games saved the blimp.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  2. Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Fuck you, Zelnick. The GTA community will accept nothing less than your resignation and the firing of the asshats in the company who dreamed up this fuckwaddery to justify their unnecessary jobs.

    >in violation Take-Two's rights

    Oh boo hoo hoo cry me a river. You have been as profitable as a pure golden turd and it is the fans and modders who made that possible. Fuck them over and they will desert you.

    1. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Oh boo hoo hoo cry me a river. You have been as profitable as a pure golden turd and it is the fans and modders who made that possible.

      For anyone not experienced in gaming, modding can turn a good game into a great game, and a great game into a timeless game.

      It's sort of like open source software. Community members put in time and effort to create custom content, and everyone benefits from it (including the publisher, who now has an awesome game on their hands with sales through the roof.)
      Often, modifications go above and beyond content like extended campaigns or additional characters - engine hacks and patches are often necessary to incorporate new content and functionality that simply did not exist previously.

    2. Re: Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Get a life and go outside. Time to grow up.

      Little kids go outside to play. Sounds like it's time for YOU to grow up, junior.

    3. Re: Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Going outside now costs $130 hour. Thanks for being complicit and letting corporations take over the world.

    4. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by t0qer · · Score: 1

      It was fun in the heyday of doom mods. I ran the simpsons mod with the atari levels.

    5. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by eaglesrule · · Score: 2

      Indeed. It brings to mind the original, vanilla version of Skyrim compared to the incredible breadth of mods that transformed the game into a beautifully realistic fantasy sandbox. If there was a reason why the game won Valve's Test of Time gaming award, it has to be because of the immense modding community surrounding the game.

    6. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by hairyfeet · · Score: 2

      I know I won't be buying anymore Take A Deuce games (already had all the GTAs but V and was planning on getting it during the big Steam Summer Sale) because of how big a difference in game quality and length there is between modded and unmodded games.

      Take one of my favorite games Freelancer as an example...if you simply play that game vanilla? Then you'll probably get 5-8 hours of gameplay and it'll be linear as can be, but then you start adding the mods and....wow, just wow. Suddenly you have dozens of populated solar systems and factions and alliances and a large MP community. You can actually ROLEPLAY in the modded FL, you can be a miner or a smuggler, a pirate or a bounty hunter, having to watch which territory you are entering in case you are allied with the wrong faction, it turns what was just a straight space action game into much more of an RPG and all that content, dozens of hours worth and still growing? 100% free.

      So I won't have games from a company that is modding hostile, off is the direction Take a Deuce can fuck.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    7. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      Oh boo hoo hoo cry me a river. You have been as profitable as a pure golden turd and it is the fans and modders who made that possible.

      For anyone not experienced in gaming, modding can turn a good game into a great game, and a great game into a timeless game. It's sort of like open source software. Community members put in time and effort to create custom content, and everyone benefits from it (including the publisher, who now has an awesome game on their hands with sales through the roof.) Often, modifications go above and beyond content like extended campaigns or additional characters - engine hacks and patches are often necessary to incorporate new content and functionality that simply did not exist previously.

      Ahh but you have a hard time monetizing new DLC and new games if everyone is playing the 'timeless' modded game. Money grab, pure and simple.

      I played GTA because it was sometimes fun with my friends. Once I got temp banned for inadvertantly receiving hacked money from an unknown player on the server (who was just spewing money out), and after repeatedly getting instakilled by pots and hacks I said fuck it. I hope this nails the coffin shut.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    8. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Oh ya, that was a major overight shitstorm. Turned pals into enemies overnight too. It never really recovered. Two camps - modders who mod in an open source style or those very interested in making money out of their hobby if only there was a way to do so.

      Ie, they mod for several years, having fun at it, no complaints. One day they hear they can make money at it! After the weekend the offer gets pulled back because of huge outcries from the player base. Modder doesn't go back to making mods like always and being happy again, but instead shouts "screw you guys, you suck, I'm going home with my toys!" and leaves the community forever.

      I'm amazed that Take Two totally missed the lesson here.

    9. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by Evtim · · Score: 1

      Yes! I don't game anymore but when I did, moding was crucial. I could not believe how many talented people are out there that turned, as you say, a good game into a great game, and a great game into a timeless game. The Elder Scrolls series, Total War series, Space sims [freelancer anyone], GTA indeed, strategy [civ]......now that I think about it, did I ever played a game without mods? Hardly...

    10. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by wildstoo · · Score: 1

      Except that GTA6 will still sell infinity+ units and the modding community makes up a tiny percentage of their player base.

      Take-Two won't give a fuck.

    11. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by houghi · · Score: 1

      Such an example is e.g. Cities: Skylines. Without the mods it would be just better than Sim City. They even implemented several things that where previously only available with mods.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    12. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by sethstorm · · Score: 1

      Not so sure that is the case.

      --
      Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
    13. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by retchdog · · Score: 1

      If I may interject for a moment, many people believe that the spirit of free software is that you should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you should charge as little as possible. This is a misunderstanding. Distributing free software is an opportunity to raise funds for development. Don't waste it! For example, you could charge a nominal fee to package and sell mods on magnetic tape, as the FSF does with Emacs and plans to do one day for Hurd.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    14. Re:Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick by wildstoo · · Score: 1

      Fair enough. Please point me to a case where Take-Two gave a shit about their loyal playerbase (i.e. modders) vs. their stock price. I'll wait.

      No, seriously... I'll wait...

      *heat death of the universe*

      I'm waiting...

  3. Got my Steam refund in.... by Zurkeyon3733 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    JUST in the nick of time! Allowing modding, and then pulling it years later... Equates to me never buying your titles again. Enjoy those lost dollars, because that is all you "Won" today Take-Two, Less profits :-P

    1. Re:Got my Steam refund in.... by lgw · · Score: 1

      Believe "Steve Jackson" when it comes to gaming. :)

      BTW, there's already a Jimquisition on this shit. NSFW-ish.

      Banning mods on day one would have been a dick move, but letting them flourish, then banning them years later? That's No Man's Sky level asshattery.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    2. Re:Got my Steam refund in.... by Zurkeyon3733 · · Score: 2

      How many Non-Assholes have you ever met online? The world is chock full of them. They are called "Humans" :-P

    3. Re:Got my Steam refund in.... by wildstoo · · Score: 1

      Steve, if you buy a Take-Two game in future, please let this comment be a reminder that you're a liar.

      *warp to 2018*

      Hi Steve, you liar!

  4. Crazy thought process by Baron_Yam · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We have a game here that customers really enjoy adding their own content to, at their own time and expense, which results in the game remaining entertaining longer and increases purchases... we've let that go for years because it benefits us. So what the hell, let's shut it down, reduce the value of our product, and piss off our customer base. It's a bold plan, let's see how it plays out!"

    They want to protect their DLC which apparently makes more than the game itself... but their DLC is already making money. Shutting down 3rd party content isn't going to result in a boost to that income stream, and since they turn out new content at a pathetically slow pace, it's actually likely to go down as players get bored and move on to something else.

    1. Re:Crazy thought process by Cipheron · · Score: 5, Interesting

      > it's actually likely to go down as players get bored and move on to something else.

      You're right, but you're not factoring in GTA VI into that. They want to stomp the modding community before they start hyping what's new in GTA VI, otherwise those features will be reverse-engineered.

    2. Re: Crazy thought process by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      The DLS is free. But the new in game items cost money (some are limited time). So, it is either grind like mad (in game rewards are tiny),hack GTA$ and risk banning, or pay.

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    3. Re:Crazy thought process by dissy · · Score: 2

      You're right, but you're not factoring in GTA VI into that.

      That's not quite accurate. I've factored GTA 6 into things, and will not be purchasing it.

      Going by the responses on steam, twitter, youtube, etc., there seems to be a couple million others who have factored in GTA 6 similarly as well...

      The vast majority of us that use single player mods were already going to buy, if not pre-purchase, GTA 6 as a simple matter of course.
      Why would passionate fans of the series, demonstrated by our continued use of the game long after the mainstream got bored with it, not have purchased the next game in the series?
      Of course we would. And once the mainstream got bored with it, we would have kept it alive with mods long past that point too, likely well into the time GTA 7 is announced two hardware generations from now.

      But now that our passion for the game is being treated like some criminal act, why bother spending our time, energy, and creativity in making the game better if in the end all we are going to get for it is the hatred of their publisher and possibly a lawsuit?

      It seems to me if anyone hasn't factored GTA 6 into account, it was take two.
      I hope the lower revenue stream is worth it for them *sarcasm*

      But in the end it's OK, fallout and the elder scrolls won't sue us for our love.
      Sounds like a good of a time as any to start that "never leave sanctuary challenge" I've been meaning to try with the latest batch of settlement expansion mods available.

    4. Re:Crazy thought process by Vektuz · · Score: 2

      Unfortunately no. The site/app they went after actually restricts multiplayer modding and is single-player focused specifically.

  5. This is *all* about GTA VI by Cipheron · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They recently displayed a GTA VI demo at E3. Up until now, modders were great for sales and retention. But now they have a sequel and they have to hype how much better the sequel is going to be than the last one.

    Think about it this way: any new feature announced for GTA VI will see GTA V modders seeing if they can't just mod that into GTA V. Which would take a dump on their marketing. GTA V is the old stuff, GTA VI is where their profit is. Modding isn't for your benefit, it's because it extends the lifetime, community and sales of the product. But now, they don't want that. They want to create a clear distinction by which GTA VI is "better" than GTA V. How better to do that than crushing the mod scene?

    1. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 2

      They want to create a clear distinction by which GTA VI is "better" than GTA V. How better to do that than crushing the mod scene?

      By *gasp* making a better game.
      I guess maybe you can only rehash the same idea before you achieve perfection.

      Shadowrun, while probably not nearly as popular as GTA, is a game with a good modding community. The long story short is that somehow, copies of the game still sell, despite the prevalence of modders.

    2. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      They recently displayed a GTA VI demo at E3.

      You got a link to that, because I'm pretty sure they didn't.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
    3. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      Looks like they did: GTA IV demo at E3

    4. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      VI that too.

    5. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 2

      Wait...they put GTA in vi? Take that, emacs!

    6. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by Altrag · · Score: 1

      By *gasp* making a better game.

      That's kind of the issue. I don't know if TT really has the parent's logic in mind, but if they do then this would be exactly what they're concerned with: How can you make a "better" game when any improvements you add are immediately back-ported to the prior game by third parties you have no control over? I mean I'm sure there's some limits to what modders can do, but how much of a gap would TT have to jump in order to be so definitively unique that modders couldn't clone it, while at the same time still retaining the general theme and style of the series?

      somehow, copies of the game still sell, despite the prevalence of modders

      And I'm sure GTA5 would still sell some copies. But they don't want to sell "some copies" of an old game (that are probably discounted due to age on top of everything else.) They want to get that several-million-copy full-price spike that only really happens for a brand new game.

      Not that I particularly agree with their decision here.. fans of a series are usually pretty quick to pick up the next iteration whether it deserves to be picked up or not -- sequels rely on that fact at the best of times. And they're taking a pretty big risk in pissing off their fans.. even if (perhaps especially if) the modding community is a small fraction of their player base, the Martha Stewart effect could cause the whole situation to blow up in their face.

    7. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by squiggleslash · · Score: 2

      Is GTA VI just GTA V with the ability to tweak what your avatars look like, or with some minor additional subgames, or with the ability to flip a switch and have infinite lives?

      Because if it is, sure, the modding community is the competition. But if it is, nobody's going to spend more than $5 on it.

      If it isn't, if it's more or less a whole new game, as distinct from GTA V as GTA V is from GTA IV, then there's no effing way the modding community is "competition".

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    8. Re:This is *all* about GTA VI by EvilSS · · Score: 1

      Looks like they did: GTA IV demo at E3

      Did you bother to actually click on any of that shit? All those videos are fake.

      --
      I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
  6. They went for too much and will pay. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Take Two/R* first co-opted modders through GTAForums with some success.

    Unfortunately, they went for too much by trying to kill off modding entirely. Hopefully they reverse course, as they've removed any goodwill.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  7. Re:Kerbal Space Program: Multiplayer. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    How would you do time acceleration? Run at the lowest speed of all the players (going to have to implement alarm clocks, let the other players see anything actually happening)?

    Force everything 'real time' and recreate the boredom?

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  8. THIS by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    This is how you kill your customer base. Brilliant move, guys!

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    1. Re:THIS by Tukz · · Score: 1

      Well, they WANT to kill the player base for GTA V, since GTA VI is on the way.

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
    2. Re:THIS by Tukz · · Score: 1

      I highly doubt that.

      Most people don't know about this, the modding community is relatively small compared to new and returning buyers.

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
    3. Re:THIS by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      This is true. Nobody has ever owned more than one game. Nobody ever bought Fallout 4 because everyone was like "Hey, I'm playing Skyrim, and I have some mods, so I will never look at this completely different game."

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
  9. Oh well, no purchase from me. by Vskye · · Score: 1

    I remember when companies used to give a shit about customers. Now days, apparently not. Fuck them.

    If your going to treat people that actually BUY your game and then go through all the trouble of doing mods to actually make it BETTER, and you shit on them.. them fuck you.

    Never ever by a game from these assholes again. Oh, legalize.. my humble opinion and all of that.

    --
    Life was hell, then I discovered Linux...
  10. GTA will survive by LeMeilleurNeha · · Score: 1

    GTA V is one of the most awaited game for me and I really enjoyed playing the game

  11. Re:So why don't the deobfuscate it to begin with? by Calydor · · Score: 1

    Funnily Candy Crush is one of the best examples of a profitable casual free-to-play game.

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  12. Re:Deleting GTA now... by JonnyCalcutta · · Score: 1

    Can I have your copy?

  13. Re:Kerbal Space Program: Multiplayer. by retchdog · · Score: 2

    no problem! they're going to license the multiplayer from No Man's Sky which deals with this issue.

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  14. Re: Thread for those who don't care by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I prefer gnome2 over mate. IMNSHO

  15. security catch-all by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

    Nico Bellic: "How come all the bridges are closed?"
    Cousin Roman: "Terrorism."

    Security. That's why we can't let you install mods on your very own personal _gaming_ system. It might start world war III or collapse the stock market, WE JUST DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!!!! so turn everything off.

  16. Does nobody see the parallels to Microsoft? by wildstoo · · Score: 1

    Hi, We are a software publisher known mostly for a single product. Sure, occasionally we produce other products, but there's one cash-cow we always return to. We tell people it's better every time we release a new version, but we know that nobody really believes that. We certainly don't.

    We allow modifications and additions to our software, up to a point, but when we can no longer monetize them, or they threaten our longer-term strategies, well... sometimes you have to make unpopular decisions. This is OUR product, after all, and although we encourage people to use and even EXTEND our platforms, when your products threatens our revenue streams... well, we just have to put a stop to that.

    We hold no ill will towards developers who wish to use our platform in the way in which we intended. We're just trying to spread software diversity, without decreasing competition in the marketplace. I mean, heaven forbid there would be only one company supplying what you need.

  17. GTA IV by ajazgames · · Score: 1

    This is one of the best game ever ,Nice graphics to play the game .I love to play the game .